The Attention Recovery Plan: How to win the battle for focus in a world built to break it

by David Gillespie

Our addiction to our devices is pernicious, pervasive and addictive. Powerful tech titans harness our attention to maximise their profits at the expense of our time, attention and mental health. This reliance on screens, resulting in constant dopamine spiking, is wreaking havoc on our capacity to immerse ourselves in problem-solving tasks and creative endeavours.

The research is unequivocal. An overuse of our devices leads to burnout, anxiety, depression, procrastination and sleeplessness. The good news is there's a way we can harness technology for our own benefit, and achieve the sense of peace, focus, and purpose we crave.

Packed with cutting-edge research and practical advice, The Attention Recovery Plan arms us with the powerful tools we need to break our reliance on screens, reset our dopamine levels and achieve the kinds of long-term goals that lead to a satisfying, full and happy life.

Genres: Nonfiction

Kindle Edition

Published April 28, 2026

Reviews

[Hanna El Shorbagy]

this was super interesting, not all of the chapters were relevant to me but most of it did resonate and was interesting to learn the science behind what goes on in the brain during a doom scroll. Although implementing a lot of these changes as a shift worker is hard, i am still going to try.

[Kelly]

I got 20 pages in and just had to stop.

The melodramatic ADHD intro irritated me (just what we need, more stigma). Then it turned into the usual overdiagnosis/everyone's on speed/blah blah blah sensationalism. And it's all because of screens! Which totally disregards the scientific literature that has done the maths and shown that we're just making up for decades of underdiagnosis.

Spoiler alert: I was neurodivergent in the bucolic 90s, there just wasn't a name for it. And the assessment process was really bloody rigorous and expensive, and required info about childhood traits. Sorry, being distractible for a few years won't cut it.

And the research studies quoted contradicted the points the author wanted to make. Like...

1. Older adults struggle to multitask.
2. Researchers trained them to multitask.
3. They got better at it, and their brains reversed age-related decline.

Author's conclusion? Multitasking is terrible, avoid it.

Huh? Don't use a study that shows that intensive multitasking reverses cognitive ageing to demonise multitasking! That's very lazy cherry-picking.

There's more like that just in the first 20 pages. It's painful.

So yeah, maybe there are some great strategies in here, but I'm not wading through all the stigma and bad science to find out.

[Carolin]

This book read very sensationalist, with lots of condemnation and kind of easy explanations for what is a very complex medical, psychological and mental health issue.
Not sure about the scientific evidence on this one, and the overall tone was offputting for me so DNF.

[Sean Towson]

A necessary read.

[Heather Brocklehurst]

Very interesting (frightening?!) and challenging book. Need to implement change!

[Owen Cantrill]

Great insight into the workings of the mind and how it relates to digital media

[Kristen Elliott-Newell]

Life changing. Stopped all social media after this book. Screen time down to almost nothing. Everyone must read.

[Ari (Head in a Book)]

Really fascinating references to neuroscience. Very engaging and insightful, read it in one sitting.
Important to note this guy was previously a corporate lawyer, no science background

[DonutKnow]

I found this really helpful in breaking my unhealthy relationship with scrolling ❤️ Knowing the science behind was so critical for me to make my own decisions about my scrolling habits 💪

[Maya Kukudzhanova]

While the author offers genuinely useful practices in mindfulness, breathing, and CBT, their speculations on ADHD and neurodiversity are deeply problematic and potentially harmful.

[Monica Hoang]

I learnt a lot of interesting facts, I didn't resonate with all sections as they didn't all apply to me. However there were many parts that felt eye opening.

[Jedi]

Ironically DNF but will try again another day.